Sunday, February 25

Vegas, baby!

It's almost March already, and I'm done my midterms, so it feels like this semester is over already. And what have I accomplished? Other than an awesome vacation to Las Vegas, not a whole lot. No, wait, scratch that. I did that thing where I planned out the rest of my life and I don't have to wonder what I'll be doing, just where in Winnipeg I'll be living during my two remaining Canadian semesters. I say Canadian semesters because in the fall I'll be going to the University of Plymouth in England! Yay! Well, at least as far as I know, without formal "acceptance" I can't say for sure. But yeah, that's the plan so far.

As for Vegas stories, it was an amazing time. First of all, it was my first real vacation, excluding those oh-so-exciting weekends to Grand Forks. Flying instead of a twenty-eight hour drive would have been nice, but my lack of a passport threw a wrench in that plan. I told them they could go without me, but they didn't :). I am working on the passport thing though, rest assured. The drive was well, long. We took very few stops on the way down, and Meghan and I didn't have to drive at all. I was pumped to see the snow slowly disappear, which i guess it only did part of the way through Utah. My first impression of "the strip" was that...every thing was huge, exaggerated and cartoon-ish. Which it all is I guess. And something that also blew me away was the sex. Everywhere, billboards advertising strip clubs, or whatever else. Walking down the strip you could collect a baseball card-like roster of calling cards of hookers, ranging in price from $29-69.(nice!) All perfectly legal of course. I think I'm very grateful that I was with two guys who ignored all of that stuff so well. Anyway....our hotel was near one end of the strip, The Luxor. Gorgeous. The room wasn't anything that any hotel wouldn't be, as in, it was completely regular, but these buildings, all of the hotels, are unreal. I don't know how to explain it, but everything so big, so detailed, so...shiny. If anything would make me feel right-off-the-farm, it was this. Not that I ever lived on a farm, but you know what I mean.

Walking the strip was something that could've kept me occupied for a few days. I would have enjoyed it a lot lot more if it weren't for my choice of shoes most days. I just had to wear sandals I've never worn before on the first day. ouch ouch ouch. I still have the scars from that decision. So the first night, we basically walked around a bit, and crashed early. Tuesday we decided to go to Hoover Dam. Oh, all of my pictures are here. Hoover Dam and more. That night we came back and did things on the strip that aren't legal in other cities :) haha. Anyway, Wednesday, Valentine's Day, we went to the Jay Leno show. We were a bit late-ish, so we thought we might not get in. Turns out they sat us in the front row. Must've picked the best looking group to maybe be on TV ;). And I think you could see the backs of our heads. I still have to see the tape. The guests were Beyonce, who seemed fake...whatever happened to her being some "independent woman"? (not like I'm saying she's dependent now, but she was on the show cuz she was the sports illustrated cover model, and she just seemed...demure and quiet), and Charles Barkley, and some old guy playing country/bluegrass or something. I don't really remember. The next day we slept in late, cuz LA is 3 hours away, after all, and didn't do a whole lot until we went to The Mirage for dinner and a show! An awesome little Cirque du Soleil show called LOVE.

Which was, of course, awesome. The drive home was much the same, with the except that I got to drive through lovely, boring Montana with almost no sleep under my belt, which was okay, seeing as I was relieving someone who had been driving for 16 hours. When we finally got home, I slept for 17 hours. I was sooo tired. Whew. So that was it for Vegas. Many quotable quotes and all that. Fun times with awesome people.

Sunday, February 11

I haven't been here for so long that I almost forgot what it looked like. I always mean to write stuff, but never really get around to it, or end up posting it on myspace or something. I leave for las vegas in about 9 hours. I'm pretty pumped. I'm someone who has traveled barely at all in my short life. The farthest I've been in all directions, from Banff to Kenora, from Flin Flon to the little fishing village in Mexico. And the two 'interviews' I've had this week seemed most fascinated by that one week trip I took during reading week two years ago. I almost wish that's where I was leaving for tomorrow. I know they're going there now, or are already there. I want to do things that matter, but I always end up doing things for myself. Not to say that those don't matter too, I just feel selfish for being happy sometimes. So, I'm not too sure what else to say besides I've got the best job this summer and I'll be moving home again! yay!